The Seventy-Third Day, part 2: Warner Brothers Studios, the Making of Harry Potter

Monday, April 21:

This isn't even close to all the pictures I took of the Harry Potter studios. I was geeking out hard-core. Even Chris, who hasn't read any of the books and has only seen maybe three of the movies, thought it was super cool. Because it was.

 
They had THIS in the lobby:

The Armillary Sphere from the Astronomy Tower 

And then in the queue to get into the main part of the building, they have this:

Harry's Cupboard Under the Stairs

They take you into a movie theatre, and have you watch a bit from Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint about how they virtually grew up in this very building. And when the film was over, the SCREEN ROSE INTO THE CEILING AND YOU SEE THE DOOR TO HOGWARTS. Pure magic, you guys.

Just outside the Great Hall 

Standing in the Great Hall was so surreal. Very impressive.

Moaning Myrtle's robes

The ceiling of the Great Hall, which was actually in the next room.

From the props department, some of the fancy table settings from the Yule Ball.

Lucius's Luscious Locks

Thestral

Gryffindor Boy's Dormitory

A hallway in the Leaky Cauldron

The Mirror of Erised.
For those of you who AREN'T Potterheads, when you look in this mirror you see your deepest desires.
And it's totally true, because when I looked in there, I saw me and my honey at Harry Potter Studios! BAM!

Gryffindor Common Room

Awesome clock

The Triwizard Cup, and the Golden Egg puzzle.

The Goblet of Fire. They have it behind glass, otherwise I'd have put my name in. 

Dumbledore's Office, and FAWKES!! 

Tom Riddle's Diary and the Basilisk Fang

Hagrid's Hut

The door to the Chamber of Secrets!

Mad-Eye Moody's Trunk 

The Burrow!!

This may have been one of my favourite sets to see. 

Bellatrix Lestrange 

The creepy "Magic is Might" monument at the Ministry of Magic 

Dolores Umbridge's Office. So many cat plates. 

As Umbridge gained power, her wardrobe got more and more pink.

Floo Network at the Ministry of Magic

The Black Family Tapestry 

After Sets and Props, they take you into the Backlot which has the outdoor stuff, and BUTTERBEER!

Guys, butterbeer is the single best thing on the planet. There are only two places to buy the ACTUAL stuff: Here, and Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. 

Riddle Headstone

The Knight Bus! 

I drove the Flying Anglia! Okay, I sat in it and posed for a picture.
Note the Hogwarts Bridge in the background. 

Oh Hey, Number 4 Privet Drive! How are you today?

And nextdoor at number 3, I met Hedwig! 

I also met Sirius Black's owl.  In the books, he has a black owl,
but those don't exist, so they used a non-toxic dye to color his feathers for the film.

Those were the ACTUAL actor birds used in filming! Neat!

The Potter's house at Godric's Hollow.

Standing on the Hogwarts Bridge

After the Backlot, they lead you back into the building to see the Special Effects Makeup and Animatronics!

Nearly-Headless Nick's head 

Luna Lovegood's lion hat 

Creepy mermaid head!

Kreacher and Charity Burbidge, the Muggle Studies teacher at Hogwarts,
 who Voldemort murders and feeds to Nagini at the Death-Eaters meeting at Malfoy Manor.

NOOOOOOO!!! DOBBY!!!!

Oh hey there, Aragog! Nice to see you.

This Buckbeak Animatronic was UNREAL!  

After special effects, they dump you out into DIAGON ALLEY!! The lighting is constantly changing so you can see it in the daytime and nighttime. Really cool.

How much do I love the Weasley's joke shop?! So much.  

Ollivanders 

The Owl Emporium! They had many of the original owl actors there, too!  

Like this little Pigwidgeon guy! He was so cute!  

This was cool! They made a statue of the architect that designed Hogwarts, and stuck him in the movies. 

And then, the grande finale: Hogwarts Castle! It was stunning.

Each of these wand boxes has the name of someone involved in the films somehow.  Really cool.

Cheers!

Kami & Chris, the Pseudo-Londoners

(who are now back in the States, but I'm really behind on this blog. So sue me.)

;)